AOP strategy 2022 to 2026
Our roadmap to securing the present and shaping the future of optometry
Our
Foreword
Executive summary
Our purpose and our values
Our five-year strategy and roadmap
Foreword
summary Our purpose and our values Our five-year strategy and roadmap
Foreword
We are delighted to present our five-year strategy, designed to ensure that we continue to respond to — and help shape — the context in which optometry operates in order to deliver excellence for our members now and in the future.
At the core of the strategy is our commitment to ‘secure the present and shape the future’ of optometry for the benefit of our members and the people they serve.
This strategy sets out our ambitious vision for the AOP and our roadmap to achieve this goal.
The future of the profession has never been more exciting and never has the sense of urgency been so palpable. Proposed health reforms, together with the rapid development of new technology, are set to transform the way optometric services are commissioned and delivered. In response, we have sought to create an equally bold and aspirational fiveyear strategy. This document sets out the background to our vision, our key priorities for action, and the projects we are committing to over the next five years.
Dr Julie-Anne Little Chairman Adam Sampson Chief Executive
Of course, none of the work we do would be possible without our stakeholders and our members. We have remained committed to providing a membership service of the highest standard during these unprecedented times, enabling members to continue to deliver safe, high quality and high impact optical care.
We look forward to collaborating with our colleagues at the AOP, our members and our external partners to deliver this strategy.
Executive summary
This strategy outlines our direction and priorities for the next five years. It is built upon the established assets of the organisation: the leadership of the Board and Council, the knowledge and commitment of the management team and staff, and the insight and passion of our members. It also takes as its starting point a close analysis of the external environment in which the AOP membership is working — and to which we must continue to anticipate, respond and influence.
Change is now
Since 2020, the COVID pandemic has transformed the landscape for health and social care in the UK. Speed of thought and action was essential to respond to a rapidly changing situation, posing serious risk to the health of millions of patients and the NHS staff providing their care.
Whether working in a community practice, as a domiciliary optometrist making visits to patients at home, or within a hospital eye care team, many of our optometrist members continued to offer clinical care to those who needed it most.
The need to adopt innovative new ways of working was essential during this time; from the use of remote consultations to triage patient need, to the rollout of the CUES model that brought together eye care services in a new way and reduced the pressure on secondary care teams.
These lessons, and the national cost of living economic challenges we now face in 2022, reiterate the urgency for a strategy to address the issues of the day with ambition and confidence.
Executive summary
Our purpose and our values
Our five-year strategy and roadmap
External influences
1 A growing and ageing population is putting increasing pressure on eye care services across the UK, with the capacity to provide ophthalmology services failing to meet the demand. Optometrists and optical teams are on hand to reduce the burden on a healthcare system struggling to meet a backlog of need created by the pandemic.
1 Optical businesses are rethinking their operations to adapt to what customers prefer and what online technology enables, in turn changing the way eye care and retail services are delivered.
1 From big data and artificial intelligence to the ever-widening accessibility of OCT, developments in technology are changing the way optometrists and clinicians work, along with what is possible for patient care and the way that care is delivered in optometry.
1 A multi-disciplinary mindset is a core principle across the NHS and commissioned services. Optometry needs to strengthen its work with other healthcare organisations and engage proactively in initiatives to demonstrate improved outcomes for patients.
1 Digital technology including the remote provision of clinical services, as well as the GOC’s call for evidence on the Opticians Act, could have regulatory implications including evolving standards for the sector.
Our strategic ambitions
Over the next five years, five key pillars will underpin our work:
Creating a vision for legislation and regulation
Potential changes to the Opticians Act and the GOC will mean the AOP will need to undertake detailed work on behalf of its members to ensure the future of the profession is defended and secured.
Building external influence and policy making
Extending and expanding the AOP’s influence both within the sector and externally to system leaders and the wider population as the sector evolves and changes due to health reforms, innovative technologies, regulation and clinical advancements.
Our role in the future of healthcare
Ensuring the AOP is a leader and catalyst for change in the context of new healthcare commissioning and operating systems (ICSs and PCNs), and the long-held ambition to move more services into community-based settings and to deliver care closer to home.
Economics in the optical sector
Given the significant drivers of change in the sector, the AOP will need to shape a collective view on the current and future picture of the ‘market’ in order to identify where and how we should be leading the focus of resource (clinical, non-clinical and workforce).
Our future business model
Delivering a business model which enables the AOP to flex and change to retain and enhance our position in the sector and ensure we deliver the services our members need.
Our purpose
The AOP has a clear, simple core purpose:
We
are the voice of the optical profession, elevating the work of our members, safeguarding their interests, and championing eye health across the UK.
The AOP continues to be a mission-led, values-driven organisation. The golden thread that connects all these together is our members, who will continue to be the focus of everything we do.
Executive summary
Our purpose and our values
Our five-year strategy and roadmap
Our values
Bold Resourceful Influential Meticulous Caring
To make an impact on our evolving profession and the UK’s eye health we are bold in our ambition, our decision making, and the tone we express ourselves with. We know we need to stand out to make a difference in our world. Our boldness comes from confidence in our expertise and our people. It means we can successfully communicate our vision for change to those who can help make a difference. And it means our profession can feel confident when it needs protecting.
Our profession is complex and the world we inhabit is continually evolving. To create positive change, and meet the needs of our members and their patients we need to be continually resourceful in all that we do. We use our expertise, the varying skillsets within our teams, and the intel and research we have access to, to find ways through challenges, and create pathways all our profession can follow. This means sometimes we need to dig deep. Or show grit and determination to get to the bottom of an issue. But we always find a way to come out stronger.
To bring about change in our profession we need to influence; to inspire, to convince, to persuade –bringing our membership, our partners and those in the wider world, along with us. That ability to influence comes as a consequence of our skill in communicating and the expert knowledge we have to back up our point of view. But we also do our homework –we seek to understand who our audience is, and gain insights and perspectives about their challenges and aspirations, that can help us be relevant to their needs.
While our vision is broad and aspirational, we are always meticulous about the details behind our work. It’s this care and attention that gets us the results we need. People trust us because they know they’ll have a carefully considered experience with us. Sometimes that means we need to slow down, or be realistic about how long it takes to do something well. It also means our expertise and skills are top notch; we never leave a stone unturned. And when we need to, we always communicate our expectations and needs clearly.
We care enormously about our profession, our membership, and the eye health of the wider public. We show this care and consideration through our warmth and welcoming language, alongside our passion for bringing about visionary change. As a people-focused and values-led organisation, we always do our best to understand the needs of who we are communicating with, bringing our people closer to us. In doing so, we build an effective community for our profession.
Our five-year strategy and roadmap
Executive summary
Our purpose and our values
Our five-year strategy and roadmap
Our five-year strategy
Our new five-year strategy is ambitious. It builds on everything we have achieved, but recognises the need to reflect the impact that changes to the way health and social care is commissioned and delivered, along with innovative technologies, and regulatory and legislative reform, will have on the sector.
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StrAtegy 2022 to 2026
Our roadmap
Based on our core values and mission, the five key pillars of our five-year strategy will ensure members not only have a say in the future of their profession, but are well equipped, supported and ready for the future of optical care.
3 creating a vision for legislation & regulation economics in the optical sector building external influence and policy making our future business model our role in the future of healthcare
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2
Executive summary
Our purpose and our values
Our five-year strategy and roadmap
Creating a vision for legislation and regulation
Our ambition
To ensure the future of our members in the profession is defended and secured.
Why is it important
Potential changes to the Opticians Act and the GOC will mean the AOP will need to anticipate, prepare and respond with a vision on behalf of its members.
Key activity to deliver change
To deliver our ambition we will:
1 Drive engagement with the GOC about their understanding of the current scope of the Opticians Act — including member and stakeholder engagement work for the GOC’s call for evidence.
1 Interrogate the principles behind any approach to delegation of responsibility for refraction and set out a position fit for the future.
1 Lead consensus-building discussions with employers.
1 Maintain ongoing engagement with government policy and plans for healthcare regulatory reform.
1 Scope key areas of dependency in defining longer term vision (for example AI regulation and take-up; market developments etc) and timelines for the AOP to form views on these.
1 Develop a draft vision for a regulatory and legislative settlement.
1 Develop an engagement and influencing plan to achieve our preferred vision.
We have succeeded when Our evidence-based strategy is endorsed by members, the optical businesses and external stakeholders. Any legislative change that is embedded reflects the AOP’s strategy.
How we will monitor and measure success
Number of areas in which the AOP’s guidance has been reflected or cited in proposed or delivered legislative or regulatory changes.
Executive summary
Our purpose and our values
Our five-year strategy and roadmap
Pillar two Building external influenCe and poliCy making
Our ambition
For the AOP to be recognised externally as the most influential voice in optometry, shaping the message the AOP takes to external audiences for the biggest impact including awareness and promotion of the sector in terms of what it can (clinically) deliver.
Why is it important
The AOP needs to extend and expand its influence both within the sector and externally to system leaders and the wider population to promote both the sector’s healthcare and retail activity in the face of health reforms, innovative technologies, regulatory changes and clinical advancements.
Key activity to deliver change
To deliver our ambition we will:
1 Undertake market research projects, including to understand how members view the future of the profession and how they expect their role/career path to evolve, and to know better what public perception of optometry (in clinical and retail terms) means externally in order to understand the potential priorities and shape our arguments in external affairs.
1 Use member research and case studies to highlight the AOP as the representative association best placed to understand and speak for the optical profession and their experience on the front line of primary healthcare.
1 Build our relationships with employers, sector peers and policy influencers in order to deliver opinion leadership on optics and healthcare as part of primary care provision.
1 Widen the scope of our external affairs work focused on issues key to the under-35s, including equality, diversity and inclusion, sustainability in optics, and the student experience.
1 Build a public affairs function in the AOP to steer our lobbying work and ensure better cut-through with the Government and opposition political parties.
1 Improve our existing website and identify and deliver new digital services to enhance the AOP’s two-way engagement and communications with members and the external world including the media.
We have succeeded when We are recognised as the go-to expert voice for optometry in the media and the external world. Our insight and intelligence is being used to help steer wider policy. We have increased our level of collaboration and effectiveness with sector and external partners.
How we will monitor and measure success Increased opportunity for media coverage. Ease of accessibility of AOP opinionleadership content. Level of awareness of the AOP’s role and its policies with target audiences. Monitor the engagement of the general public with optometry.
our role in the future of healthCare
Our ambition
To enable the AOP to support members and the sector across the UK to deliver optometric services within the new integrated care commissioning and delivery model in a way that is financially sustainable, clinically safe and provides further opportunities and growth for the profession.
Why is it important
The AOP needs to be a leader and a catalyst for change in the context of new healthcare commissioning and operating systems (ICSs and PCNs), and deliver on the longheld ambition to move more services into community-based settings and to deliver care closer to home.
Key activity to deliver change
To deliver our ambition we will:
1 Produce an analysis on the opportunities and threats in the optometry healthcare space, specifically the impact of a move to a clinically focussed or blended clinical model with a deep dive into:
The mechanism for delivery Future workforce and assessment of need
Data and interoperability of systems to support new, broader clinical model beyond just eye care
— Future funding model and tariff
Innovation and technology
Timescales for delivery — in conjunction with national NHS England and NHS Improvement timescales and regional rollout.
1 Identify and advocate for the services which could move into optometry (both eye related and wider primary care/ diagnostics services) and an indicative timeframe.
1 Produce a review and understanding of risk — for example, the impact of deregulation and the rollout of AI-based technologies.
1 Deliver a clearly evidenced membership and stakeholder engagement plan and reported feedback.
1 Put forward health economics and financial modelling where needed, linked to the pillars set out above.
We have succeeded when We have put forward our optometry healthcare proposition, and are actively involved in discussions with external stakeholders across all four devolved nations to shape policy.
How we will monitor and measure success
Increased opportunity for engagement on our clinical model to deliver optometric services within the new integrated care commissioning and delivery model, including references to our data. Data on the uptake of our strategy recommendations.
summary
Our purpose and our values
Our five-year strategy and roadmap
four eConomiCs in the optiCal seCtor
Our ambition
To have evidenced financial and workforce modelling and projections that will enable the AOP to develop the ambitions and direction of travel set out across the strategic pillars.
Why it is important
Given the significant drivers of change in the sector, the AOP needs a collective view on the current and future shape of the ‘market’ in order to identify where and how the AOP should be leading the focus of resource (clinical, non-clinical and workforce).
Key activity to deliver change
To deliver our ambition we will:
1 Model the optometric workforce — including how many optometrists are needed for a given population based upon productivity gains from AI, size of the optometric workforce and changes to population size and demographic.
1 Undertake a review of what future optometric practice looks like including location, mode of practice and who pays to access those services (NHS versus private). This will inform the level of income that is needed, or sustainable.
1 Identify key revenue streams for optometry, to risk stratify each of those and identify how to mitigate any risks which pose a threat to future sustainability. This will enable AOP resource to be directed towards those areas of greatest need.
1 Map the current revenue streams into the optometry profession with the impact from disrupters against each (stressed for the risk from disrupters).
1 Model the size of the optometric workforce that currently exists and will exist if the status quo student cohort/ university programmes continues and that which is needed to provide care for a growing and ageing population, as both currently delivered and with advancement in technology.
1 Engage with the optical businesses to build an understanding of what they are planning for model revenue streams and how they can be increased to offset changes in how the current model delivers.
1 Produce high-level research on the size of potential optical healthcare services’ market need.
1 Produce econometric modelling of spend to save arguments, especially in relation to eye health screening.
1 Deliver research into potential commissioning models/changes necessary to release work.
We have succeeded when We have put forward and consulted on our evidence-based financial and workforce modelling, and we are seen as key opinion leaders by external stakeholders and members.
How we will monitor and measure success
Increased level of engagement with our economic proposition, including citations to our data. Data on the uptake of our strategy recommendations.
Executive summary
Our purpose and our values
Our five-year strategy and roadmap
Our ambition
future Business model
Using detailed workforce and economic modelling to put in place a business model for the AOP that is future-fit and includes a wider evaluation of alternative revenue streams.
Why
is it important
Given the changes we are likely to see develop across the profession, the AOP’s business model will need to flex and change to retain and enhance our position in the sector, and ensure we are able to offer the best possible service for our members.
Key activity to deliver change
To deliver our ambition we will:
1 Develop a group practice/business membership offer proposition — including modelling a changed package and the impact this will have on both membership figures (market share) and revenue.
1 Consider the changes to how practices may be structured and reflect on the potential tailored member services each group may value and its price point (NHS/retail/blended).
1 Scope the potential for the AOP to enhance its education offering and financial position through new qualifications that reflect the changed roles and responsibilities within a practice.
1 Explore the benefits and risks of expanding the membership offer to introduce associate member grades for the wider practice team.
1 Understand the budgetary impact/risk of offering a segmented membership package.
1 Provide insight into the requirements to deliver qualifications and the associated cost and resource implications. This would require membership survey results, workforce modelling, membership modelling, associated financial forecasting, and modelling the cost and profitability for each of the components being offered.
We have succeeded when We have developed and initiated a new operating model for membership.
How we will monitor and measure success Increased opportunity for revenue generation outside of the existing membership model. Increase the range of member services.
Executive summary
Our purpose and our values
Our five-year strategy and roadmap
High-level strategic roadmap 2022–2026
Pillar one
Creating
a vision
for legislation and regulation
Pillar two Building external influence and policy making
With the wider sector, respond to the call for evidence about potential changes to Opticians Act
Build a preliminary model of the impact of AI and automation on sector practice
Build AOP policy and influence in areas of diversity, equality and inclusion
Undertake detailed member research to understand preferences and ambitions
Deepen relationships with sector partners, businesses and external healthcare policy influencers
Pillar three Our role in the future of healthcare
Support Optometry First pilots, actively engage with eye health transformation programme in England and identify and advocate for opportunities to extend scope of optometric work
Develop policy to ensure effective working with NHS England and ICSs and ICPs to deliver enhanced clinical care
Seek to input into proposed reforms to practice in Wales and continue to monitor developments elsewhere in the four nations
Analyse the future size and shape of optometric workforce based on an understanding of technological change and healthcare need
Analyse market trends and revenue streams and engage with larger providers to understand likely market ambitions
Create a future vision for optometry legislative and regulatory settlement, involving sector and wider healthcare colleagues as appropriate
Monitor take-up of new technology and the impact on the market and adjust the model accordingly
Scope and undertake specific initiatives in relation to excluded and vulnerable groups
Enhance digital and communication with members and the external world in light of research
Continue to increase media reach and stakeholder profile
Proactively lead lobbying and engagement on future legislative changes linked to the Opticians Act and wider DHSC regulatory reform
Feed the knowledge of technology adoption and impact into a new vision for regulatory and legislative settlement
Develop and promote new pathways to ensure equality of access and integration of optometric healthcare within wider primary and secondary system
Continue to adapt our digital offer to improve two-way communication and better understanding of member and external views
Use increased profile and influence to seek specific longer term sector objectives
Seek to create a model for potential alternative funding mechanisms for clinical work in England based on experience across the UK
Continue to support embedding of optometry services in new NHS commissioning models
Monitor and where appropriate provide support for a new model in Wales and seek to extend scope of work in NI
Develop proposals to ensure the continuing availability of skilled, trained workforce matched to meet emerging need
Produce a toolkit and support package to assist smaller practice owner members to adapt to new market conditions
If appropriate, actively begin to seek strategic change. Scope a funding model in England and Northern Ireland in the light of models in Wales and Scotland
Work to ensure consistency and parity of esteem for primary eye care services within the system and localities
Work with partners, including policymakers, regulators etc, to ensure mechanisms to underpin market health
Monitor market development and increase understanding of market trends and economics Pillar five Our future business model
Analyse trends in membership and funding models in similar organisations to inform options for remodelling existing membership packages
Expand our education offer and investigate the potential for developing education solutions for the future workforce, involving partners as required
Pilot any potentially viable new membership offering to understand attraction, potential take-up, pricing etc Rollout any newly agreed business model
Pilot any potential new education offer
Our roadmap to securing the present and shaping the future of optometry
We are the voice of optometry
